Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2015 number 5

Human perceptions regarding health have been changing during almost all stages of formation and development of mankind. Along with that one can note the multidirectionality of conceptions of teaching and education of all-round, sound person, and the basis of these conceptions is the process of physical development and physical improvement. The evolution of pedagogical idea, starting from the epoch of Antiquity, shows us the multidirectionality of approaches to organization of physical education of the younger generation. For example, in the age of antiquity in the Greek policies there were used two systems of education, Spartan and Athenian. The main aim of Sparta was the education of the rising generation that could win the war under any circumstances. In the Middle Ages not much attention was paid to the preservation of health and longevity. The Christian religion, which played a huge role in the life of a medieval community, established its dominance in the field of training and education. Preaching «austerity» and the sinful character of care for the body, the religion called to care only about the salvation of souls and to prepare for the afterlife. The Renaissance was marked by the struggle against scholasticism, including in the field of education and training. Emerging bourgeoisie could not be satisfied with a religious philosophy and medieval culture, to put up with the ideas of asceticism and contemptuous attitude toward physical development. In the early and developed feudalism there came to the fore the system of military physical training of the Knights, the main features of which is military orientation and class character. The situation began to change in the late feudalism with the emerging bourgeois culture and physical culture and sports becoming its integral part. At this time there appeared humanist, socialist theories of physical education. The beginning of the era of modern times was accompanied by a struggle against medieval traditions and rethinking of human values, which inevitably affected the development of the educational thought of the period. A similar trend of transition from one value to another existed until the early twentieth century. In summary, all the thoughts and ideas of eminent philosophers and teachers can be differentiated on two grounds: the orientation of the personality and orientation system. The essence of the approach that is driven by the system, is that the process of health improvement of children was organized in order to form the individual student in the public interest. In turn, the approach that focuses on the personality of the student presupposes the organization of the process of sports and recreational activities in the interests of the individual child, taking into account his/her inclinations and capabilities.